Michelle de Kretser

Book review: Scary Monsters, Michelle de Kretser

Scary Monsters explores alienation with subtlety, insight and ambiguity.

The 25 best Australian books of 2021

27 Oct 2021
Nanci Nott

Michelle de Kretser’s sixth novel, Scary Monsters, divides itself down the middle with an unconventional double-front-cover. One side of the book belongs to Lili, and the other side to Lyle. Their two stories are distinctly standalone, yet thematically conjoined. Whichever way around the book is read, the reader will begin their journey with two quotes; one is a statement, and the other a question. Lili’s side of the book will lead the reader to a semi-historical French adventure, and Lyle’s to a post-pandemic Australian future. 

Paiged Clark

Book review: She is Haunted, Paige Clark, Allen & Unwin

A bitingly clever short story collection about life, loss, relationships, and identity.

The 25 best Australian books of 2021

Nanci Nott

16 August 2021

Paige Clark’s exquisite debut begins and ends, with death. There is dying in the middle too, but her stories don’t wallow; they’re pragmatic. Curious. Alive with the strangeness of human beings dealing with subjective realities, selves, and relationships. Clark’s quirky characters reveal subtle truths about how people relate, how race shapes experience, and how much reality hinges on contingency. In addition to illuminating the how, these stories repeatedly pose the question of why.